The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 233 I Really Don’t Know
The Queen Mother gave two mansions to Cao Yu and Xiahou Xian respectively.

Because the two of them had traveled a long distance to get here and needed rest, the Queen Mother did not stop them and let them go and rest.

After the two men left with the imperial edict, Cao Mao said to the Queen Mother:

"Mother, I'm afraid these people won't let us meet again easily."

"I heard from the prince that the ministers in the court want me to live in Xuanwu Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother's face suddenly darkened.

Xuanwu Hall is definitely not a good memory for the Queen Mother.

Emperor Liezu Cao Rui often lived there.

This was because the ministers did not allow Cao Rui to start the renovation of the Taiji Hall and wrote letters to dissuade him. Cao Rui did not dare to go against the ministers, so he built the Xuanwu Hall in the suburbs to keep beautiful women and handsome men. Well, Emperor Wen only inherited the Han Dynasty, while Emperor Ming also inherited some extraordinary things.

The interior decoration of Xuanwu Hall is even more luxurious than that of Taiji Hall.

The ministers actually thought that the Taiji Palace was too luxurious and wanted to send themselves to the even more luxurious Xuanwu Palace?

This is hilarious to talk about.

Queen Mother Guo frowned, "Don't worry, my son. Do these people really think I'm easy to bully? I'm here. I want to see who dares to take you away!"

"If the emperor is gone, can this place still be called a palace?"

Cao Mao remained silent for a long time, and Empress Dowager Guo was obviously confused about the current situation.

The ministers are different from Sima Shi. Sima Shi has a lot of things to worry about, but the ministers don’t need to care about these. The ministers monopolize knowledge and the right to speak, and the entire public opinion is guided by them.

Even if they did something like imprisoning the emperor, public opinion would still say that the ministers were doing it for the emperor's own good and were dedicated to teaching the emperor.

To make an enemy of the ministers is to make an enemy of the entire world.

The Empress Dowager's decree will only be effective if the ministers recognize it.

Cao Mao laughed, "Mother, it's alright. These traitors will unite in times of crisis, but will fight each other when faced with difficulties."

"The Shangshutai is not of one mind, so let's just watch them do their work."

"Is there no more virtuous ministers in this world?"

Cao Mao added, "I am mainly worried about you. I heard that the ministers want to send someone to your side, perhaps to monitor your words and actions."

"They dare?!"

Empress Dowager Guo was furious.

"Mother, we must be vigilant about this matter. If they really send people to spy on us, you should pretend to be ignorant and appease the ministers so that they will no longer be wary of you."

"Ugh"

Empress Dowager Guo suddenly let out a long sigh.

"My son, we've been struggling for so long, doing one thing after another, but now, why is the situation getting worse?"

"What on earth have we done?"

"It's a waste of energy, achieving nothing. Even Sima Shi died of illness."

"When he was here, I could still interfere in government affairs. Now, after all he has done, I can't even interfere."

Empress Dowager Guo was very depressed.

At the beginning, she was bewitched by Cao Mao's words and gradually developed ambitions to kill Sima Shi and become the real ruler.

However, after "putting" so much effort, Empress Dowager Guo found that her power was not as great as before. This would undoubtedly make her feel disappointed and even shake her beliefs.

What am I doing?

What on earth did I do?

When Cao Mao heard this, he looked dazed for a moment.

Cao Mao had experienced many setbacks. He accumulated strength in Yuancheng, but lost everything within a few days. After coming to the court, he accumulated confidants, but lost everything again after a few days.

He finally had his own confidants and could move around the palace freely, but he saw that the ministers wanted to leave him with nothing.

Cao Mao suddenly laughed.

"Mother, in the past, Sima Shi and the other ministers were too disdainful to take action against us. They looked down on us and thought we were not worth mentioning. But now, they are beginning to pay attention to us and are beginning to want to take action against us."

“That’s what we did.”

"We are not as weak as you think."

"We have people throughout the temple, almost everywhere, but we haven't launched a formal counterattack yet. We are still accumulating strength."

"When the time is right, you will be surprised to find that we have done so much. You will become the most powerful queen mother since the founding of the Wei Kingdom."

"At least, if you issue an imperial decree now, the ministers will not dare to disobey, nor will they dare to disobey."

"It will get better and better in the future."

"I promise you that day will not be too far away. I will make them kneel outside Zhaoyang Palace and apologize to you."

Cao Mao's eyes were extremely firm.

Empress Dowager Guo looked at him, speechless for a long time.

When Cao Mao walked out of Zhaoyang Palace, Zhong Hui was waiting at the door. Seeing Cao Mao, Zhong Hui hurried forward and asked with a smile: "Is the Queen Mother a little disappointed?"

Cao Mao was stunned for a moment. This guy was really powerful.

"It's okay, I've already persuaded her."

Zhong Hui followed Cao Mao, and the two of them walked towards the West Hall together.

Cao Mao told Zhong Hui what Wang Xiang had told him.

Zhong Hui sneered, "Your Majesty, please don't think that Wang Xiang is a good person. This matter must be caused by him. He wants to use you to get rid of the Three Dukes and replace them with himself."

"If he were to sit in the position of one of the Three Dukes, he would definitely be more terrifying and more difficult to deal with than the current ministers."

Cao Mao suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

Zhong Hui added, "You don't have to be afraid of the ministers. They won't force you to do anything. The most important thing now is to win over the General of the Guard and use him for your own benefit."

The Protector General was Yang Hu.

Cao Mao shook his head. Yang Hu was very capable and had good personal morals, but he did not have the courage of Zhang Hua and others. In the past, he was afraid of the Sima family, and now he was afraid of the ministers.

Moreover, he was from the largest family in the world and was a natural beneficiary, sharing the same interests as the other ministers.

He is different from Zhong Hui. He is a family-oriented person and will not betray his clan for his own sake.

As for the marriage relationship with the Sima family, among the many major families in the world, which one is not married to the Sima family?

Xun Xi's elder brother is Sima Yi's son-in-law, and now he is still leading the resistance.

"I'm afraid this person won't be of any use to me."

Zhong Hui laughed and said, "He will be of use to you."

Cao Mao quickly looked at him and said, "Shi Ji, Lord Yang is my uncle, and he is also very intelligent. Please don't take him."

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I'm not trying to force him with conspiracy."

Zhong Hui raised his head and said seriously, "The ministers cannot tolerate him."

"He is completely different from the other ministers. Although he is a timid man, he is also upright. He is incompatible with the other ministers. The other ministers will be very wary of him. If he cannot go along with the other ministers, then the ministers will reject him. The only one he can turn to is Your Majesty."

"From today onwards, Your Majesty will summon all the Imperial Attendants to the Taiji Palace and meet with them daily."

"I promise that Yang Hu will soon be your Majesty's."

Cao Mao immediately understood Zhong Hui's idea and nodded.

The two returned to the West Hall, and Zhong Hui finally spoke about the imperial clan. "I've made preparations. Taking advantage of the unrest in Hebei, I will send people to send all the imperial clan members in Hebei back to their fiefdoms. This matter cannot be handled by the other ministers, but must be handled directly with He Zenglai."

"He Zeng is a very selfish person. He only cares about his own clan and is afraid of death."

"Hebei's royal family has already died at the hands of the rebels. If they were to punish him for this matter and send the many royal family members in Hebei back to their fiefdoms, I would never dare to disobey."

"By the time the ministers reacted, the royal family members had already returned to their fiefdoms. If the ministers were to propose sending them back, it wouldn't be that easy."

Zhong Hui said quietly, "The old villain Gao Rou thinks highly of himself, believing he has secured his throne, yet he has forgotten the enemies outside."

"When the Shu general Wei launched his attack and Yongliang declared war, he realized how difficult it would be to govern the Wei Kingdom."

"With something like this happening in the imperial court, and the General of Chariots and Cavalry seriously ill, can Chen Tai and Sima Wang stop the General of Guards from Shu?"

Cao Mao was shocked. "Are you saying Jiang Wei will break through our defenses?"

Zhong Hui analyzed, "During Jiang Wei's previous Northern Expedition, Fei Yi and his ilk prevented him from going all out. This time, their Shangshu Ling, while close to the eunuchs, is very supportive of the Northern Expedition. Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition will be massive, with an all-out effort. Sima Wang has only just arrived in Yongliang and lacks much combat experience."

"Although Chen Tai has experience, he is also responsible for internal affairs and cannot focus on fighting the enemy."

"It will surely be extremely difficult for them to resist. When they are defeated by Jiang Wei and seek help from the imperial court, do you think that old villain Gao Rou will still be able to smile?"

"Who else in the court can lead the troops to fight?"

"Gao Rou? Zheng Chong? Xun Yi? Which of them can do it?"

After Zhong Hui said this, Cao Mao suddenly had more ideas. He had indeed ignored this matter. Jiang Wei was still causing trouble in the northwest of Wei!
If Jiang Wei really broke through Wei's defense line, Gao Rou and others would be scared to death. Those who could go to the front line to fight Jiang Wei were basically from the Sima family. Do these high-ranking officials in the court want to fight Jiang Wei?

Oh, just take a shower and go to bed.

As Cao Mao listened to Zhong Hui's eloquent speculation about the swiftness of the enemy's offensive, his expression became increasingly strange.

"Eshiji, from what I hear from you, it seems like you highly respect this Shu Kingdom's general."

Zhong Hui quickly stopped and smiled.

"Your Majesty, you may not know this man, but he is a renowned general of his time. He has repeatedly triumphed over larger forces with fewer men. Even Yongliang, heavily guarded by troops, remains terrified at the mere mention of him. For a surrendered general to have achieved this in Shu is truly admirable."

"If Your Majesty can obtain this man's help, why should he fear these old dogs in the court?"

Cao Mao pondered for a moment and asked, "Will I be able to subdue this person in the future?"

Zhong Hui fell silent.

"Your Majesty can send him off in a dignified manner."

"Of course, who can predict the future?"

(End of this chapter)